Marquette Co. MIGenWeb

MARQUETTE COUNTY.

Source: History of the Upper Peninsula of
Michigan: containing a full account of its early settlement, its growth,
development, and resources, an extended description of its iron and copper mines: also, accurate sketches of its counties, cities, towns, and villages ...
biographical sketches, portraits of prominent men and early settlers.
Publication Info: Chicago : Western Historical Co., 1883. Pages 379-391.

The history of this county is peculiarly that of the American pioneer era of
the Upper Peninsula. Prior to the coming of American enterprise, the wilderness
alone was here; the location did not claim even a regular Indian habitant; it
was unvisited by the French explorers of the Northwest, and even avoided by the
trappers and hunters of later days. Archaeologists cannot identify it with the
homes of the ancient miners, nor can the ethnologist establish it as the
permanent home of the Indian band. It is true that the Indians of Keweenaw had a
full acquaintance with the beaver homes along the Carp, together with a vague
idea of what the iron rock, the Biwabiko-wadjiw, was; yet the barbarians looked
upon the beaver as something which would not continue much longer to lure them
hither, and upon the iron mountain as the home of lightning and thunder, always
inhospitable, generally angry, repulsive, and often times appalling. When the
character of the Indian and the advantages which the Western bays and the banks
of the St. Mary's River offered him, are considered, it is not a matter for
surprise to learn that he was willing to ignore the idea of settlement on a spot
so far west of the trader's lake route and so utterly wanting in those resources
which the lazy red man loved to draw forth. For these reasons, Marquette County
has not an Indian history, nor is there anything to point out even a temporary
settlement by the French traders, or a visit from the first French missionaries
and explorers. The city has no ancient history. The county claims an ancient
geological history, extending over ages co-existent with the first solidifying
and peopling of this world, a reference to which should necessarily be
speculative, and, consequently, beyond the plan of this work.

Marquette County, her cities, villages and townships, are all the result of
modern enterprise and knowledge. It may be said that an Indian encampment was
located where the Mackinac Railroad depot now is, in 1845, when Mr. Everett
arrived. The chief of this band was Manjigeezek, or "Moving Day." He was an
Otchipwe, and under him were about thirty warriors. Another band visited Lake
Michigamme at intervals; but the stay made by the nomads should not gain for
them the name of settlers.

Chusco was the prophet of L'Arbre Croche and also of Mackinac, where he died
at an advanced age in 1838. On that island came to reside the prophetess,
Ogeewyahnoqutokwa, of Chegoimegon, who was converted by John Sunday, and married
the Indian Waboose. She was a lineal descendant of Wabogug, who went from Sault
de Ste. Marie to assist Montcalm against the British at Quebec. Both of those
characters made their homes near the mouth of Carp River for a short time,
before their final move to Mackinac Island; yet they cannot be called resident
Indians.

There is no intention whatever to decry the Indian his.. tory of the
district. While it must be conceded that the county is full of evidences of
ancient visitors, there is nothing in French or American records to show a
permanent settlement. The following archaeological discoveries remain to point
out that long years ago the country was known to the Jesuits, as well as to the
aboriginal inhabitants of this peninsula.

In excavating at the Carp, in 1851, it is stated by Sidney Adams that the
workmen found the bed of an old river and in it many copper instruments, which
are said to be in possession of John Burt, of Detroit. Mr. Adams remembers the
discovery in 1851. In Chocolay Township, a Bishop's silver cross and a short gun
barrel were found while raking out a charcoal pit.

An old Indian, Marjizeekiks, told Mr. Adams, in 1852, that he remembered when
the Indians cultivated gardens on Presque Isle, and then trees of large growth
were found there.

On Ripley's Rock, Indian hieroglyphics were found by Mr. Adams, in June, 1851.
The hieroglyphics were contained, or rather, written on a large double sheet of
birch bark sewn along the edges by thread made from tissue, showing the
characters on the bulge.

There are old Indian graves south of the Carp, and again, where the road
passes in front of the Northwestern Hotel, were other graves. On Light-House
Point are found a number, and again on the Picnic rocks are found the rude tombs
of a people unremembered by the savages of 1845.

There was an old stone-worker's shop where Dr. Hewitt's residence now is, in
Marquette City. Arrow-heads, chips from stones and other evidences of Indian
workers in stone, were found by Walter Stafford. Mr. Adams has a copper
spearhead found by him four miles below Marquette in 1856.

During the excavation work, close by the Northwestern Hotel, in 1861 or 1862,
a vessel containing about a half bushel of large leaden bullets, was found by
Joshua Hodgkins.

In the Otchipwe Nagamon, or national hymn of the Lake Superior Indians, the
social condition of Marquette County, during the early years of the modern
mining era, is portrayed with that natural distinctness characteristic of the
Indian. Rev. Mr. Jacker's translation, while perfect in itself, gives that very
poor idea of the Indian original which our present language is only capable of
giving:

But under the ground
The German, the Irishmen
Are working.
They are gathering metal,
They are hired laborers;
The big knives (Americans)
Are carrying off the spoils.

All may wonder at the mystery which enshrouds the story of those quaint old
visitors and the souvenirs of their coming and their stay, and while wondering
must offer a tribute to the past—to the old race of miners who first discovered
the presence of mineral, and, in their rude ways, essayed to develop the rich
ores or native metals. To the men and women who came to take possession of the
country, to renew, as it were, the industries which the unknown race ceased to
carry on. and to stay in their chosen land, we can say: You found a wilderness
and cleared a place for habitation; you took from the mountains wealth to pay
for the labor; you found at hand the solid rock and clay for brick, the pine
trees for lumber, the very sand, and out of these materials built your cities.

No better illustration is afforded anywhere of the skill and ingenuity of
man; he found materials in nature's great storehouse, of which he was the
master—they the slaves; he found the land a wilderness, peopled by savages—see
the change! The stores, the banks, the railroads, the docks, the hotels, all
stand where, only a few years ago, the tangled underbrush sheltered uncultivated
nature. The morning whistles, the school and church bells ringing from the
hillsides, have drowned, as it were, the wild whoop of the Indian. The
newspaper, the great missionary of modern times, is abroad, and proves to the
outside world that you are earnest. The telegraph and telephone, a complete
railroad system, a well organized society—all are yours. Withal, your neighbors
in older settlements may claim some advantages, such as great centers of culture
and wealth, yet would you change places with them? Would you go back to the
quiet life so poor in experiences as the old past you left in your old home?
Nay, tarry here amid these hills, full of the romance of promise, where
opportunity—a goddess so shy in older communities, and coy, and hard to
win—extends a friendly hand on hilltop and in vale, and fairly leads you to the
summit of success.

DISCOVERY OF THE IRON MINES IN 1844.

In the general history, as well as in the historic papers, by S.
P. Ely and Peter White, references are made to the discovery and development of
the iron industries of this county. For this reason, a special paper on the
subject, prepared by Mr. Whitman, has been laid aside as, redundant and the
letter of William Burt substituted. This letter deals with some facts which
pertain properly to the history of this county, and which form valuable
additions to the historical reminiscences of Messrs. White and Ely.

To render the history of the era of iron discovery more
complete, as well as to show what part was taken in bringing the mineral
resources of the Upper Peninsula under notice, by the line and geological survey
parties of 1844, the following statements are given. The paper was written by
William Burt January 10, 1870:

By reference to Part 3, of the annual messages and
documents—Prof. C. T. Jackson's geological report, 1849 and 1850, pages 933, 934
and 935—will be found a catalogue of mineral specimens
collected by William A. Burt during his surveys of township lines in the fall of
1844. Near the bottom of page 934, is a list of sixteen specimens of iron ore,
from Sections 1, 12, 13, 24 and 25, of Township 47 north, Range 27 west. These
specimens and the catalogue were handed over to the United States Government in
the fall of 1814, and the fact of the discovery of iron ore was well known in
Detroit and in the counties of Macomb and Oakland. I have been told a man named
Vanalstine, living in Oakland County, claims to have procured a piece of this
ore from one of W. A. Burt's men, and to have tested the ore in a blacksmith's
forge, in the year 1844. William A. Burt, at the end of the field notes of the
survey of east boundary of Township 47 north, Range 27 west, wrote an N. B., as
follows, viz.: "Two good solar compasses were used on the township line, and the
variations of the needle determined by both. When the variations were about 45
degrees or 50 degrees, the needle appeared to be weak, linked and nearly
destitute of magnetism. Spathic and hematite iron ore abound on this line."
These field notes are in the State Land Office at Lansing, and copies of them in
the General Land Office, Washington. Dr. D. Houghton was expected to write the
geology of the district surveyed in 1844. I have never seen any geological
report of that date, and suppose the material to have been lost when he lost his
life, in 1845.

Jacob Houghton, Harvey Mellen and William Ives have written
interesting letters regarding this first discovery of iron ore. Mr. Ives sent me
a map which he says was made at the time of the survey, in the fall of 1844, and
is just as he then made it, and in Township 47 north, Range 27 west, is written
these words, "Iron Hills." I have an old map, recently found amongst some old
maps of surveys, which shows the same iron ore deposits. On the face of this
map, Samuel W. Hill has certified to its being a correct copy of the survey of
William A. Burt.

In his diary of the year 1844, William A. Burt says: East
boundary of Township 47 north, Range 27 west. This line is very extraordinary on
account of the great variations of the needle and the circumstances attending
the survey of it. Commenced in the morning, the 19th of September, weather
clear. The variation high and fluctuating on the first mile, Section 1. On
Sections 12 and 13, variations of all kinds from south 87° east, to north 87°
west. In some places the north end of the needle would dip to the bottom of the
box, and would not settle anywhere. In other places it would have variations 40,
50 and 60° east, then west variation alternating in the distance of a few
chains. Camped on a small stream on Section 13. September 20, raining; staked
the line on south half of Section 13, the needle being useless. September 21,
snow fell in the fore part of the day from three to six inches deep. Mr. Ives
came to us—had been left lame near the corner of Townships 47 and 48, Ranges 26
and 27. September 22, snow gone; all hands staked line one and one-half miles,
underbrushing the line, cutting down some trees and notching into others to keep
the range. During the day had the ague and fever.

Although on an allowance of one-third or one-fourth enough
(provisions) and cloudy weather, we did not dare risk the compass, on account of
the great fluctuations of the needle, to direct our course, or venture ourselves
to go after provisions, when I had some deposited seven or eight miles
east-southeast of us. September 23, in the morning, ate our last allowance of
provisions." The diary then goes on to state that the party captured three
porcupines, or hedge hogs, which they ate, and finally the weather became clear
and the party went east to their provisions.

Early in the summer of 1845, Dr. D. Houghton's party of
surveyors discovered iron ore while subdividing Township 47 north, Range 26
west. This discovery was reported by Bela Hubbard, deputy surveyor, and is
incorporated in Prof. Jackson's report, page 835.

C. T. Carr informs me that in the latter part of the season of 1845, in
company with Edward Rockwell, and guided by the Indian brave and medicine man,
Man-ji-ki-jik, they went and saw or discovered the Jackson Mine. I am told that
Mr. Carr discovered considerable signs of some persons having been there before
him. Prof. Jackson, in his report, page 477, says, Mr. Lyman Pray, in 1845,
taking his advice, visited a large mountain of iron ore some where between the
head of Keweenaw Bay and the Menominee River. Joseph Stacey, in 1845, reported
the discovery of a large amount of iron ore between the mouth of Dead River and
Lake Michigan. In May, 1846, William A. Burt discovered good iron ore in place,
a few miles easterly of the junction of Michigammi and Brule Rivers, and during
the same season our surveying parties, headed by William A., John and Austin
Burt, discovered a large amount of iron ore deposits. For a full report of the
geology and opinion of the value of the iron ore deposits, see W. A. Burt's
report, Part 3, Annual Message and Documents, 1849-50, pages 842 to 876
inclusive. Page 852 has "General Remarks " on the iron ore and necessity of
providing some good road to get it to market.

These remarks were written before any of our iron ore mines were opened. The
first of our iron mines was opened in the fall of 1846, and the first forge for
working the ore commenced operations in February, 1848. Foster and Whitney say
in their report on the Geology of the Lake Superior Land District, part 2, pages
21 and 22: "To William A. Burt, Esq., is due the credit of having first
determined the existence of these beds and proclaimed their value." These
remarks evidently refer to his discovery of iron ore and report of it in 1846.

In 1853 or 1854, Mr. Everett sent three blocks of ore to the New York
Exposition. This ore was shipped to the Sault, then portaged and reshipped for
New York.

AN HISTORICAL LAW SUIT.

A review of the case, Compo vs. the Jackson Iron Company, and
the decision given by the Supreme Court, in 1882, contains much that is
historical and instructive. The appeal to the Supreme Court was taken by F. O.
Clark, attorney for Compo. The defense was represented by M. H. Maynard, C. I.
Walker and C. T. Wing.

C. Compo, as assignee of Charlotte Kobogum, an Indian woman,
daughter and heir of Marji Gezick, a deceased Indian, brought a bill to obtain
relief under the following circumstances: Defendant is the corporate successor,
and under the statute, subject to the liabilities of a former company originally
incorporated in 1848 as the Jackson Mining Company, and afterward changed to the
Jackson Iron Company. That corporation was organized chiefly by, and obtained
the mining property of, a previous unincorporated joint-stock company, acting
through several trustees, and known as the Jackson Mining Company. This suit is
brought to secure the rights alleged to have been contracted by the original
association to be given to Marji Gezick, but never formally conveyed or
otherwise assured to him or to the daughter, who succeeds him. The association
was made for the purpose of mining on Lake Superior. Marji Gezick discovered and
made known to them the iron mine in Marquette County, which they have always
worked as their mining property, and they had agreed to pay him for his
services. The association having procured a War Department permit, and in
pursuance thereof having taken out a lease of the mining location, which
contained a section of land, thereupon gave to Marji Gezick a written agreement
dated May 30, 1846, signed by the President and Secretary, which declared that,
in consideration of his services in hunting ores of Location 593, he was
entitled to twelve undivided thirty-one-hundredth parts of the interests of the
Jackson Mining Company in said Location 593. This agreement was ratified and
confirmed on the books of the company, which it is averred passed to defendant.
It is also averred that a subsequent verbal agreement to perfect the title at
their own expense as soon as possible, and give him that interest, was also
ratified and confirmed and entered on the books.

An objection made to this alleged verbal agreement as void under
the statute of frauds does not appear to us of much importance, because by the
alleged ratification it ceased to rest merely in parol, and for the further
reason that as the title was actually obtained, it left the original agreement,
if valid, sufficient to assure the same interest.

Subsequently, the incorporated company, by virtue of the lease,
was allowed to enter the land at $2.50 per acre, and a patent was issued
December, 1851. Since that time, the land has been used for mining purposes, and
the enterprise has been very successful.

Marji Gezick, who is alleged to have been an uneducated Indian,
died in or before the year 1857. The bill alleges that his rights were
recognized during his life. That after Charlotte Kobogum succeeded to his
interest, Mr. Everett, a member of the original association, and one of its
trustees, saw the President of the company in New York, where the office was
located, on her behalf, and showed him the original agreement, and on search
they found its ratification on the books, and he promised to look up the matter
and settle with her if she had rights. Subsequently, offers deemed inadequate
have been made for her interest, but recently the company refuses to acknowledge
her rights. The defendant demurs, and relies on various grounds, including lapse
of time, and various grounds of insufficiency of title shown.

The original contract was in writing, and contained a definite
description of the land, and of Marji Gezick's interest in it, and the
consideration on which it rested, which was a valuable one. There is no
difficulty that we can discover in holding this a valid agreement and
declaration of trust for the title, if there was any title to which it referred.
It is claimed, however, that the right then existing was a mere license, and not
the subject of contract or grant. It purported, however, to give permanent
rights, including a right of pre-emption. It was not shown on the argument, and
is not very important, in what way these lands came, as they did actually come,
under the control of the War Department. By an act approved. March 1, 1847,
Congress recognized this by providing for transfer of their management and
control to the Treasury Department —9 Laws, U. S., 147. The same law provided
for their survey and sale, and gave to occupants under War Department leases a
pre-emption to be exercised during the existence of the lease, on condition that
the entire tract should be purchased, and compliance made with the terms of the
leases. There can be no doubt, we think, that the purchase of the land under
this act depended on the leasehold rights, and was in pursuance of the
pre-emption right thereby granted, and that the act of Congress ratified the
lease, whether originally valid or not.

This being so, we think that whatever right Marji Gezick had in
the lease followed it into the purchase and became attached to the title. There
is nothing in the bill indicating that any demand was made on him to contribute
his small share of the purchase money, which would be about $6 or $7, provided
the land was not paid for out of the profits, which is quite possible. This gave
him an equitable title to the undivided interest described, which the legal
owners held in trust for him. This title passed to his daughter, and she could
transfer or enforce it as an interest in fee, unless barred by lapse of time.

There is nothing in the bill which shows that this title has been disputed
long enough to bar her rights. Lapse of time alone will not necessarily operate
as a disseizin in law or equity, and the bill does not indicate any considerable
delay since the company gave up negotiating and denied her rights. The defendant
has not answered, and on the present hearing we must assume the bill to be true.
There is enough in it to call upon defendant to put in a defense and leave the
merits to be tried on the facts. It is possible that the accounting for past
rents and profits may be limited by a far shorter period than the claim to the
land itself. We cannot anticipate what questions may be raised when the facts
all come out.

The demurrer was improperly sustained. It must be overruled, with costs of
this court and the usual costs of hearing on demurrer in the court below.

Judge Campbell delivered the decision. Judges Graves and Marston concurred,
while Judge Cooley agreed that the bill made such a case as entitled the
complainant to an answer.

The appeal was from an order of the Circuit Court sustaining the defendant's
demurrer, which was based on the assumption that the claim, if it ever had valid
existence, had lapsed.

The period of development appears to have been prearranged; for, in the
discovery of the rich iron ore and the early attempts at reduction, are
evidences given of some strange power. This power, incomprehensible as it is,
was used in driving men from their happy homes into the wilderness to prepare
the way, as it were, for others destined to aid in drawing forth all the great
mineral resources of a land hitherto unprized. Today, a new discovery is made;
tomorrow, a new mechanical appliance introduced; the day succeeding, a village
platted and partially settled; another day, a gold mine; next week, a city
organized; then a new railroad built, and so to the end. As this old land is
peopled by moderns, so also are their ways modern and their progress rapid. When
this tide of enterprise, which began to flow in 1846, is going ebb, is a
mystery. It gives promise of old age, and of rendering this rugged Upper
Peninsula one of the most prosperous, one of the wealthiest, and, perhaps, one
of the great States of the Union.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS.

The county may be considered the center of the Middle Division
of the Upper Peninsula, comprising what is known as the iron region. This is,
along its water-shed, quite wild and mountainous in its character, and, in its
more level regions, contains immense tracts of valuable pine lands. The
water-shed extends from the head-waters of Chocolay River north of westward
nearly to Keweenaw Bay, and thence runs in a southwesterly nearly to the
boundary of the State. This mountainous range reaches an altitude of 1,250 feet
above Lake Michigan, the hills commonly being 800 to 1,000 feet in height. Lake
Michigamme lies at an altitude of 966 feet. To the southwestward the country
slopes into a gently undulating plain toward the western boundary of the State.
There is, however, near this western border, another range of hills, known as
the Menominee Range, which forms a water-shed between the Brule and Menominee
Rivers and their tributaries, and the streams which flow northward and eastward.
This range does not reach the altitude of the northern watershed, or approach it
in ruggedness of character. The Menominee Range and the range which constitutes
the watershed extending from Marquette Bay to Keweenaw Bay, comprise the
developed iron region, which is one of the richest in the world, the hills, in
some instances, being almost solid Masses of iron ore. The intervening region
between these ranges is an elevated and gently undulating plain, well watered
and heavily timbered with pine, mingled in some instances with hardwood.

Beaver Formations.—The great beaver district is found on the
summit level of the hills, immediately west of Marquette. It extends about eight
miles east and west, and six miles north and south; is traversed by the Carp and
the Ely Branch of the Ishkonauba Rivers. Lakes Angeline and Michigamme are found
in this neighborhood. In the

vicinity of Lakes Diamond, Mary and Helen, south of Lake Flora,
and above, in the neighborhood of Ishpeming and Negaunee, varied evidences of
beaver industry manifest themselves. The works on the Grass Lake Dam are perhaps
the most extensive of any beaver enterprise south of latitude 53º. The canals
made by the little animals along the Carp River are interesting relics of
pre-mining enterprise, even as the beaver meadows in the locality were useful to
the first miners. In 1865, Capt. Johnson cut fifty tons of hay on a single
beaver meadow near the Escanaba River In 1862, when the M. & O. R. R. was
extended to the Escanaba, the beavers retired. In 1864, two beavers arrived to
repair these dams, but, finding the task a difficult one, they retired.

REMINISCENCES OF EARLY SETTLEMENT.

The paper from which the following reminiscences of early
settlement are taken was delivered by Peter White, at Marquette, in April, 1870.
Introducing the subject with a description of Mackinac Island, he proceeds to
deal with the voyage hither and its immediate results.

It was from this island (Mackinac), twenty-one years ago this
month, that the little (and, I might say, almost worthless) steamer Tecumseh
took her departure for Sault Ste. Marie. It was a tempestuous April morning; the
seas rolled mountain high, and, before she had accomplished many miles, a huge
wave took of the yawl boat, swept through the steamer's gangways, washed
overboard much of the freight from the decks, alarmed the passengers, and
brought Capt. Pratt to the conclusion that he had better turn his craft and run
her for the haven of safety he had left only a few hours before. The steamer was
not as fleet as the famous chief whose name she bore. He could probably have
beaten her best speed, on foot and through a thicket. Still, she did reach her
starting point, and, after a delay of twenty-four hours for repairs, she again
started on her trip. There were many more passengers on board than the boat had
either eating sleeping accommodations for; but it was not intended that she
should be more than twelve hours in making the trip. * * *

On board was a party specially bound to settle and start the
city of Marquette, and to claim and undertake to develop all the iron mountains
that had been or should subsequently be discovered. The head and leader of this
party was the lamented Robert J. Graveraet. At that time he was a fit leader for
any great enterprise that required the exercise of pluck, energy and
perseverance. He had an indomitable will, a commendable ambition and a splendid
physical organization, capable of enduring an untold amount of fatigue; a
disposition firm, yet gentle and generous to a fault, a figure that, for grace,
beauty, noble bearing and symmetrical proportions, I have never seen equaled. He
had many virtues, but his end was sad indeed. Many a man without a tithe of the
noble qualities he possessed holds a place in history as a great hero.

There were ten in our party, all but three of whom are now dead.
The survivors are Dr. E. C. Rogers, now a practicing physician of some note in
Chicago (a brother of Randolph Rogers, the sculptor); James Chapman, for many
years past a resident of Bayfield, Wis.; and myself. I have resided here
continuously ever since.

But I have digressed and got ahead of my story. The lively little steamer
(lively with bed-bugs), after thrashing around several hours, finally got inside
of the Detour, and there met with solid ice, two to three feet thick, and there
were no indications of a speedy thaw. The boat was run about half her length
into the ice, when some of the passengers debarked and ran up it in all
directions. Some essayed the cutting of a canal with saws and axes, but soon
gave it up as a slow job. The next day we backed out and tried another passage,
by way of the Bruce Mines, and thus succeeded in hammering our way through to
the Sault in just ten days from the time we left Mackinac. In the meantime, we
had a bread riot, an insurrection, and once the boat sank to her deck, full of
water. She would have remained there, perhaps, forever, but for the aid of an
old fellow we had named "Old Saleratus," and at whom we had poked all manner of
fun. He proved to be a ship carpenter, and, after we had unloaded the boat and
pumped her up, he found the leak, put in a new plank, and we proceeded on our
way. * * *

We succeeded in crowding our large Mackinac barge up the rapids, or falls, at
Sault Ste. Marie, and, embarking ourselves and provisions, set sail on Lake
Superior for the Carp River Iron Region. After eight days of rowing, towing,
poling and sailing, we landed on the spot immediately in front of where Mr.
George Craig's dwelling now stands. That was then called Indian Town, and was
the landing-place of the Jackson Company. We put up that night at the Cedar
House of Charley Bawgam. It is true his rooms were not many, but he gave us
plenty to eat, clean and well cooked. I remember that he had fresh venison, wild
ducks and geese, fresh fish, good bread and butter, coffee and tea, and splendid
potatoes.

The next morning, we started for the much-talked-of iron hills; each one had
a packap and blanket, and was directed to exercise his own discretion in
putting into a pack what he thought he could carry. I put up forty pounds and
marched bravely up the hills with it for a distance of two miles, by which time
I was about as good as used up. Graveraet came up, and, taking my pack on top of
his, a much heavier one, marched on with both, as if mine was only the addition
of a feather, while I trudged on behind, and had hard work to keep up.
Graveraet, seeing how fatigued I was, invited me to get on top of his load,
saying he would carry me, too, and he could have done it, I believe; but I had
too much pride to accept his offer. When we arrived at the little brook which
runs by George Rublein's old brewery, we made some tea and lunched, after which
I felt so much refreshed that I took my pack and carried it without much
difficulty to what is now known as the Cleveland Mine, then known as Moody's
location. On our way, we had stopped a few minutes at the Jackson forge, where
we met Mr. Everett, Charles Johnson, Alexander McKerchie, A. N. Barney, N. E.
Eddy, Nahum Keyes, and some others. At the Cleveland, we found Capt. Sam Moody
and John H. Mann, who had spent the previous summer and winter there. I well
remember how astonished I was the next morning when Capt. Moody asked me to go
with him to dig some potatoes for breakfast. He took a hoe and an old tin pail,
and we ascended a high hill, now known as the Marquette Iron Company's Mountain,
and on its pinnacle found half an acre partially cleared and planted to
potatoes. He opened but one or two hills when his pail was filled with large and
perfectly sound potatoes—and then said, "I may as well pull a few parsnips and
carrots for dinner, to save coming up again "—and, sure enough, he had them
there in abundance. This was in the month of May.

From this time till the 10th of July, we kept possession of all the iron
mountains then known west of the Jackson, employing our time fighting mosquitoes
at night, and the black flies through the day; perhaps a small portion of it was
given to denuding the iron hills of extraneous matter, preparing the way for the
immense products that have since followed. On the 10th of July, we came away
from the mountains, bag and baggage, arriving at the lake shore, as we then
termed it, before noon. Mr. Harlow had arrived with quite a number of mechanics,
some goods, lots of money, and, what was better than all, we got a glimpse of
some female faces. We were all much excited, and buoyant with the hope of a
bright and dazzling future before us.

At 1 o'clock of that day, we commenced clearing the site of the present city
of Marquette, though we called it Worcester in honor of Mr. Harlow's native
city. We began by chopping off the trees and brush, at the point of rocks near
the brick blacksmith shop, just south of the shore end of the Cleveland Ore
Docks. We cut the trees close to the ground, and then threw them bodily over the
bank onto the lake shore; then, under the direction of Capt. Moody, we began the
construction of a dock, which was to stand like the ancient pyramids, for future
ages to wonder at and admire! We did this by carrying these whole trees into the
water and piling them in tiers, crosswise, until the pile was even with the
surface of the water. Then we wheeled sand and gravel upon it, and, by the end
of the second day, we had completed a structure which we looked upon with no
little pride. Its eastward or outer end was solid rock, and all inside of that
was solid dirt, brush and leaves. We could not see why it should not stand as
firm and as long as the adjacent beach itself! A vessel was expected in a few
days, with a large lot of machinery and supplies, and we rejoiced in the fact
that we had a dock upon which they could be landed. On the third day, we
continued to improve it by corduroying the surface, and by night of that day, it
was, in our eyes, a thing of beauty to behold. Our chagrin may be imagined,
when, on rising the next morning, we found that a gentle sea had come in during
the night and wafted our dock to some unknown point. Not a trace of it remained;
not even a poplar leaf was left to mark the spot. The sand of the beach was as
clean and smooth as if it had never been disturbed by the hand of man. I wrote
in the smooth sand with a stick, "This is the spot where Capt. Moody built his
dock." The Captain trod upon the record, and said I would get my discharge at
the end of the month, but he either forgot or forgave the affront. It was a long
time before any one had the hardihood to attempt the building of another dock.

The propellers would come to anchor, sometimes as far as two miles from the
shore, and the freight and passengers had to be landed in small boats. Our large
boilers, when they arrived, were plugged, thrown overboard and floated ashore,
and the other machinery was landed with our Mackinac boat, or a scow which we
had constructed. Cattle and horses were always pitched overboard and made to
swim ashore.

Under the lead of James Kelly, the boss carpenter, who was from Boston, we
improved our time, after 6 o'clock each evening, in erecting a log house for
sleeping quarters for our particular party. When finished, we called it the
Revere House, after the hotel of that name in Boston. This building stood on its
original site as late as 1860. * *

About this time, we realized the necessity of procuring hay for our stock. A
man called Jim Presque Isle informed Capt. Moody that he knew of a large meadow
a short distance above Presque Isle, covered with superb blue-joint grass; the
only trouble was that it was flooded with water too deep to admit of mowing, but
he thought we could, with shovels, in a few hours, cut a drain out to the lake
which would carry the water off. So off we started in our boat, armed with
shovels, axes, scythes, rakes and pitchforks Capt. Moody nervously staked out
the ground for the canal, and we dug each way from the center for four or five
hours, and at last opened both ends simultaneously, when, to our consternation,
the waters of the lake rushed in and raised that on the meadow three or four
inches! We were not more than five minutes embarking all our tools and getting
off. We tried to keep still about the matter, but it leaked out some way, and
was the source of a great deal of sport.

We continued clearing up the land south of Superior street, preparing the
ground for a forge, machine shop, sawmill and coal house. Some time in August,
the schooner Fur Trader arrived, bringing a large number of Germans, some Irish
and a few French. Among this party were August Machts, George Rublein, Francis
Dolf, and Patrick, James and Michael Atfield. All these have resided here
continuously up to the present time, have been and are good citizens, and have
become men of property. Graveraet and Clark had been to Milwaukee and hired and
shipped them on a vessel. It was the cholera year; Clark died at the Sault on
his way back; several others had died on the vessel, and many were landed very
sick. We were all frightened; but the Indians, who lived here to the number of
about one hundred, had everything embarked in their boats and canoes within
sixty minutes, and started over the waters to escape a disease to them more
fearful than the small pox. Now the medical talent of Dr. Rogers was called into
requisition. He laid aside the hoe and ax he had learned to handle so
dexterously, and took up the practice of his profession. It was found, on
examination, that there were no real cases of cholera, but many of the newcomers
had the typhoid or ship fever, and that it was contagious was soon evident, for
the doctor, and perhaps a dozen of our young men who had never known sickness
before, were soon stricken down with it. Each one of my companions had, in
succession, taken the position of nurse in the hospital (a rude building called
a hospital had been erected), and had in regular order been taken down with the
malignant fever. It was my turn next; I looked upon it as a new promotion,
abandoned my oxen, glad of a change, having no fear that I would catch the
fever, and I did not. About the time I went in, Dr. Rogers was very low, indeed,
unable to lisp a word, and to this fact I attribute the recovery of himself and
associates; for, as I knew nothing of medicines, I discarded them altogether,
and, by advice of Mr. Harding, Mr. Emmons and Mrs. Wheelock, I commenced rubbing
and bathing them, and, Mrs. Wheelock furnishing suitable food, the result was
that in two weeks they were all convalescent. Dr. Rogers often said afterward,
"If I could have told the fool what medicine to give, he would have killed us
all."

At this time, the first steam boiler ever set up in this county was ready to
be filled with water, and it must be done the first time by hand. It was a
locomotive boiler, and was afterward put into the side-wheel steamer Fogy, which
plied between Marquette and Chocolay so many years. A dollar and a half was
offered for the job, and I took it; working three days and a night or two, I
succeeded in filling it. Steam was got up, and I then was installed as engineer
and fireman. * * * * *

That summer there were but few boats of any kind on the lake. The propeller
Independence was generally broken down, and the little propeller Napoleon only
came three or four times during the season. The reliable mail, freight and
passenger craft was the schooner Fur Trader, commanded by the veteran Capt.
Calvin Ripley, from whom the picturesque rock in Marquette Bay took its name.
The Fur Trader was a small sail vessel, and usually made a trip in three or four
weeks; but it was toward the last of October, and neither she nor any other
craft had put in an appearance for nine or ten weeks. The stock of provisions
was quite low; the butter and luxuries of all kinds were wholly exhausted; only
a few barrels of pork and flour remained, and the danger of being put on very
short rations was imminent. Then Mr. Harding discovered, or pretended to
discover, a conspiracy among the Germans to seize the warehouse and confiscate
what provisions were left. He volunteered to command a guard to watch the
warehouse day and night. The provisions were doled out sparingly, the Germans
becoming very much dissatisfied, and, a short time after (in November), they
"struck," and a large number of them started out of the country, intending to
follow the lake shore to Grand Island, and go from there overland to Little Bay
de Noquette. Only a few reached Grand Island; the weaker ones, foot-sore, weary
and hungry, lagged at different points along the beach, and probably many of
them would have perished but for the return of those of the party who had
reached Grand Island, and there learned that a propeller, loaded with
provisions, had arrived here the next day after they left. So they returned, and
the cheering news revived the drooping spirits of their comrades, as they came
up to them here and there along the beach, and they finally all got back, wiser
and better men None of the Germans named as still residing here went off with
the party. * * * * * * On the 27th of November, our boat was started for. Sault
Ste. Marie, in charge of James Hilliard (sometimes called Jim Presque Isle).
John H. Mann, Mr. Emmons and a German boy named Kellogg, accompanied him; they
were all drowned, the boat being afterward found with two bodies in it, While
the body of Mr. Emmons was not recovered till the following spring.

As I have told two stories that militate against Capt. Moody's skill as an
engineer, it is only fair that I should relate one which redounds to his credit
as a navigator. We had by some means been apprised of the fact that the
schooners Swallow and Siskiwit, which had been loaded with grain and supplies
for us at Sault Ste. Marie, had run by and laid up for the winter at L'Anse. The
grain was absolutely necessary to keep the horses from starving. Capt. Moody
promptly started for L'Anse, accompanied by James Broadbent an old salt-water
sailor. On their arrival there, they found both the vessels stripped and laid
up, and, what was worse, frozen in the ice. But Moody had pluck enough to
undertake any task, no matter how difficult or dangerous. He and his man went to
work at once to refit one of the vessels—the Siskiwit—on
the principle that might makes right. They paid no attention whatever to the
urgent protests of her owner, Capt. James Bendry. They filled her with corn and
oats from the Swallow, and employed a large number of Indians to cut a passage
between two and three miles long, through the ice, so as to float the vessel out
into the open water. They got her out on Christmas Eve, and arrived here on
Christmas Day, the sails frozen stiff and immovable, and the ice a foot thick on
her deck. They had not seen land from the time they left L'Anse until they
reached Marquette Bay, a heavy northwest gale and snow storm prevailing all the
time. The vessel was unloaded and run into Chocolate River, where she lay until
spring, when, in coming out, she ran on the beach and went to pieces.

During that winter we had three or four mails only. Mr. Harlow was the first
Postmaster, and hired the Indian Jimmeca to go to L'Anse after the mail at a
cost of $10 per trip. I believe the cost was made up by subscription.

The Jackson Company had about suspended operations; their credit was at a low
ebb; their agent had left in the fall, and was succeeded by "Czar" Jones, the
President, but nearly all work was stopped, and the men talked seriously of
hanging and quartering Mr. Jones, who soon after left the country. * * * In the
spring (1850), the Jackson Company "bust" all up, and all work at their mine and
forge was suspended. By this time, the Marquette Iron Company's forge was nearly
completed and ready for making blooms. Many dwellings, shops, etc., had been
erected, together with a small dock at which steamers could land. This dock
still forms the shore end of the Cleveland Company's merchandise pier. * * *

In the fall of 1850, B. F. Eaton, and his brother, Watt Eaton, arrived from
Columbus, Ohio. They had leased the old Jackson Forge and Mine, and brought with
them an immense number of men and horses, and a large quantity of supplies. They
commenced operations with a grand flourish of trumpets and high sounding words
that bid fair to eclipse and crush everybody else out of existence in short
order. They burst all to pieces within a year, and never paid their men a dollar
in money; those who took goods for pay were wise. Ben Eaton was so disgusted
with the country that he finally left the United States and went to Australia,
and, as far as I know, has never returned. * *

In the summer of 1851, we had pretty hard times generally; no money, and not
much of anything else. I think it was in September of that year the county was
organized. I was absent up the lake shore, fishing, at the time, and, on my
return, was informed that I had been elected County Clerk and Register of Deeds.
I told my informant (Amos Parish) that I was not of age; to which he replied
that the impression generally prevailed that I was over thirty, that no one
would say anything if I did not, and that it was very desirable to have some one
hold those offices who could write. I was flattered, and consented. Up to this
time, we had been attached to Houghton County, the county seat being at Eagle
River.

On one occasion, I was sent, in the dead of winter, on foot and alone, up to
Eagle River to get the County Clerk's certificate to a lot of legal documents. I
went to L'Anse, thence across the ice to Portage Entry, up the river, over
Portage Lake, and across the Portage to Eagle River. I called on Mr. Kelsey, the
County Clerk, and attended to the business I had in hand. He inquired, "When do
you return?" "Tomorrow." "Oh, no," said he; "we never allow a winter visitor to
depart under two weeks, and, as you are the first man who has ever come from
Marquette or Carp River up here by land, we must give you a good time." Mr. S.
W. Hill and Henry Parke came in, and between the three they agreed that I should
have a big party the next night. The thought occurred to me whether I had not
better cut and run for home, but I concluded if I should, and they caught me, it
would go hard with me; so I resolved to stay, and, if necessary, run the
gantlet, or fight for my liberty if cornered. The next day, Dr. L. W. Clarke,
John Senter, George Senter, William Morrison, William Webb, Joe Thatcher and
others called, paid their respects and tendered various civilities. I watched
them all closely, but could not discover that my suspicions of a conspiracy
against me were well founded. The gay party came off the next evening, and all
my fears were dispelled. I was invited the next night to a party at Eagle River,
and, when I argued that my apparel was not suited for parties, I was forcibly
taken into Senter's store, and there compelled to put on an elegant suit of
clothes; and for the next eight or ten days I was put through such a round of
pleasures and hospitable attentions never before nor since witnessed by me. I
could not have been more civilly feasted and toasted had I been the President.
Such was the hospitality of the early settlers of the copper region.

At last, when I was about to leave, I was offered silver specimens, agates,
or anything else they had. My wants were, however, few and simple, and I said,
"Give me two cans of those elegant cove oysters to take to my Carp River
friends, and I will be delighted." I worked my way back as far as Portage Entry,
and found the ice in L'Anse Bay all broken up. Mr. Ransom Sheldon then lived at
the Entry, buying fish and furs from the Indians. At that day, copper mining on
Portage Lake had not been dreamt of. After my arrival at the Entry, I was laid
up for three days with the "Le mal de Racket," or snow-shoe sickness. As soon as
I could travel, I set out through the woods for the Catholic Mission. I knew
nothing of the route except to keep in sight of the bay, and that I soon found
was impracticable, owing to the impenetrable nature of the underbrush; so I
struck back for better walking. The distance I had to go to reach the mission
was sixteen miles, and it seemed to me I had traveled thirty. I had no dinner;
it was very cold—twenty-two degrees below zero—the 18th of
January; night was close at hand. I crossed a little valley, and, as I mounted
the hill, I looked back of me and caught the only glance of the sun I had that
day. I knew that to reach the mission I ought to be going toward the setting
sun! I turned my course in that direction, and, in a short time, came across a
single snow-shoe track, and was much pleased to think I was getting where some
one else had so recently been; before long I crossed another track similar to
the first, and soon a third. A little closer examination convinced me that they
were all my own tracks, and that for hours I had been traveling on a circle,
only enlarging it a little each time. It was now rapidly growing dark.
Fortunately, I had matches, but I had no ax, nor any provisions, except the two
cans of cove oysters. I succeeded in starting a fire at the foot of a dead cedar
that leaned over into the forks of a hemlock, and, as fast as it burned to a
coal, it would slide down a little, and thus my fire was replenished all night.
I was too much excited to be either tired or hungry that night. I slept some in
an upright or sitting posture, before the fire; the snow was about five feet
deep, and I had shaped an indentation of my own figure, like a chair, into the
snow, and lined it with balsam boughs, so that it was quite comfortable. In the
morning, after breaking all the blades of my Congress knife in opening one of
the cans of "elegant cove oysters," I boiled them in the can and tried to eat
them; but it was hard work; they wouldn't stay down. Through the kindness of the
good Bishop Baraga, who knew that I was either hurt or lost (he had left the
Entry after I did), an Indian was sent out, and found me about 3 o'clock, and
before dark I was safely housed at the mission. After many more hardships, I
succeeded in reaching home. * *

I have in this paper merely touched upon some of the incidents of the first
two or three years of the history of Marquette and the iron region. A few
houses, a stumpy road winding along the lake shore; a forge which burnt up after
impoverishing its first owners; a trail westward, just passable for wagons,
leading to another forge (still more unfortunate in that it did not burn up),
and to the undeveloped iron hills beyond; a few hundred people uncertain of the
future—these were all there was of Marquette in 1851-52.

Little did we think that the region we came to settle would, in so short a
time, be known and felt everywhere; that its mineral products would be borne by
hundreds of vessels to the ports of all the great lakes. The Sault Canal was
then a project the consummation of which was devoutly wished, but not realized;
and the boldest of us had not dreamed of a railroad from our little hamlet to
the iron hills. We were "building better than we knew." We had fallen into the
march of the century, not knowing whither it would lead us. We were like the
fishermen of the Arabian Nights, who ignorantly opened a small sealed casket
which they had drawn out of the sea in their nets. It held an imprisoned genii,
who emerged at first like a little vapor, which while they wondered, spread and
ascended, until it towered up like a vast column toward heaven.

The forge referred to in the foregoing paper was completed and made the first
bloom in just one year from the day Mr. Harlow landed with his men. It started
with four fires, using ores from what are now the Cleveland and Lake Superior
Mines. It continued in operation, rather irregularly, until 1853, when the
Marquette Company was merged into the Cleveland, under the auspices of which
latter company the works were operated, until destroyed by fire in the winter of
1853.

In 1852, John Downey, Samuel Barney and others, began the construction of a
forge on the Little Carp, but, after building a few houses, a wheel, etc.,
abandoned the enterprise.

ORGANIC.

Marquette County was established by Legislative act, approved
March 9, 1843, which declared that all that portion of the State between the
line between Ranges 23 and 24 west, the north boundary of Township 41, the line
between Ranges 37 and 38 west, and Lake Superior, should form the county of
Marquette, and be attached to Chippewa County for judicial purposes. The act of
March 19, 1845, was of a re-organic character, amending the act of 1843.

FIRST ELECTION.

The general election for Marquette County was held November 4,
1851, when the following vote was recorded: For Governor, Robert McClellan, 53,
and T. E. Gridley, 8; for Lieutenant Governor, Calvin Britain, 53, and George H.
Hazleton, 8; Judge of Probate, Philo M. Everett, 62; Sheriff, James D. Watt, 62;
Register, Peter White, 62; Clerk, John S. Livermore, 62; Treasurer, Charles
Johnson, 62; Surveyor, John Burt, 61.

Marquette Township was established under authority given in act
of Legislature March 16, 1847. It included all the territory previously set off
as the county of Marquette. The first meeting was ordered to be held at the
house of Lucius M. Thayer, in June, 1847.

Although the township of Marquette was established in 1847, there is no
record of a town meeting being held that year, nor even the year following. July
3, 1850, a notice signed by R. J. Graveraet, Samuel Moody, Lorenzo Harding,
Norman E. Eddy and A. R. Harlow, intimated that a town meeting would be held on
July 15, at the house of A. M. Harlow. The officers elected were: A. R. Harlow,
Supervisor; R. J. Graveraet, Clerk; A. R. Harlow and E. C. Rogers, School
Inspectors; R. J. Graveraet, Treasurer; Joshua Hodgkins, Director of Poor;
Samuel Moody, Charles Johnson and A. R. Harlow, Road Commissioners; Samuel
Moody, N. E. Eddy, Czar Jones, Justices; A. N. Barney, A. H. Mitchell and
Charles Johnston, Constables.

Chocolate Township was established by order of the County Board, dated March
17, 1860. The township embraced Towns 42, 43, 44, 45, 46 and 47 north, of Range
24 west. The first meeting was held at the office of Edwards & Co., near the
mouth of the Chocolate, April 2, 1860, with Charles Brotherton, E. R. Remington
and Alex Bigger, Inspectors.

The offices of Clerk and Register were united in September, 1860.

TRANSACTIONS OF SUPERVISORS' BOARD.

The first special meeting of the board was held at the house of
Philo M. Everett September 13, 1852, with P. M. Everett, Chairman, and Peter
White, Deputy County Clerk, Secretary. The object of the meeting was the
settlement of outstanding claims. Andrew Backus, Register of United States lands
at Sault de Ste. Marie, claimed $25 for transcribing list of lands bought in the
county of Marquette. The board allowed $15. Jeremiah Crane, late Sheriff of
Chippewa County, claimed $64.88 for keeping prisoner, Cadotte, in jail 173 days.
Sheriff Sylvester Smith, then of Chippewa County, claimed $48.63 for sundry
services. Sheldon McKnight claimed $20 for passage of Deputy Sheriff and his
prisoner to Sault Ste. Marie on steamer Baltimore. John S. Livermore claimed $5
for five days' services as Clerk of the District Court. Heman B. Ely claimed $10
for the use of railroad office for holding the first session of the District
Court—all of which claims were allowed. The board then
considered the assessment roll, and determined that 2 per cent should be levied
on all taxable property in the county.

The annual meeting of 1852 was held in October. The following
claims were presented and allowed: D. James Watt, $51.05, for services as
Sheriff; Samuel L. Burt, $4 for services as Constable during the last term of
District Court; A. N. Barney claimed $41.61 for Justice's fees; P. M. Everett
claimed $4 for copying assessment, and $24.50 for sundry services; Ruel Knapp
claimed $2 for Justice's fees, and $3 for two days' services on Supervisors'
Board; Peter White claimed $6.50 for sundry services as County Clerk.

In June, 1853, $84.50 was paid to Palmer Whipple, of Detroit,
for books and stationery; Peter White received $18 for a seal of the District
Court, postage, books, etc., S. Dow Elwood received $5 for seal press; and
Justin Shapley was granted $17.99 for transcribing records belonging to
Marquette County from those of Houghton County and Registers' certificates.

In October, 1853, the board pursued a course of prompt payments
to claimants, except in the following instance: "Jonathan Benson, Esq., for
causing the death of a poor wolf by means of poison, after serious
consideration, was allowed the sum of $4." A note to this memorandum says,
"Never was paid and never will be."

In the histories of Marquette and Negaunee, the names of the Supervisors of
these cities are given.

The following is the table of equalization on which the taxes for 1881-82
were levied:

CITIES AND TOWNSHIPS.

As Assessed

As Equalized for County Purposes.

Mining Property Exempt from State Tax.

As Equalized for State Tax.

Ishpeming City

$696,785

$635,000

$460,700

$174,300

Negaunee City

345,445

330,000

161,600

168,400

Marquette City

519,552

450,000

...........

450,000

Marquette Township

73,420

60,000

...........

60,000

Ishpeming Township

158,810

155,000

51,700

103,300

Negaunee Township

42,140

40,000

...........

40,000

Forsyth Township

166,330

170,000

4,600

165,400

Chocolay Township

168,135

160,000

...........

160,000

Tilden Township

113,540

115,000

32,100

82,900

Richmond Township

72,620

70,000

25,750

44,250

Ely Township

892,010

850,000

34,280

815,720

Republic Township

493,235

500,000

138,300

361,700

Michigamme Township

214,325

205,000

51,730

153,270

Champion Township

200,220

200,000

74,300

125,700

Total

$4,156,540

$3,940,000

$1,035,060

$2, 904,940

The United States lands in Marquette County, open for entry October 1, 1881,
amounted to 223,600 acres; 200 acres of State swamp, and 42,405 acres of school
lands. The Detroit, Mackinac & Marquette Railroad Company's lands in the county
remaining unsold October 1, 1881, were 240,217 acres; the Chicago & North
Western Company's lands, 188,500 acres; and the Michigan Land and Iron
Company's, about 200,000 acres.

The population as recorded in the United States and State returns from 1850
to 1880 is as follows: 1850, 136; 1860, 2,821; 1864, 3,724; 1870, 14,278; 1874,
21,946; 1880, 25,393.

The first returns made from this county to the Census Bureau were those of
1850, when a total population of 136 white persons was reported.

In 1860, the first returns by townships were furnished. That year, Chocolay
Township claimed a population of 202 whites, 1 half-breed and ten Indians;
Marquette Township, 1,589, whites, 58 colored persons or half-breeds and 17
Indians; and Negaunee, 943 whites and 1 half-breed.

The population, as given in reports of 1870, was as follows: Chocolay, 260
whites; Ishpeming, 6,094 whites and 8 Indians; Marquette, 4,497 whites, 58
half-breeds or colored persons and 62 Indians; Marquette City, 3,880 whites,
together with the same number of half-breeds and Indians credited to the
township; Munissing, 797 whites and 2 Indians; Negaunee, 3,252 whites and 2
half-breeds; Negaunee City, 2,557 whites and 2 colored persons.

The population of Marquette County by political divisions in 1880 was as
follows:

The population in June, 1880, was 25,393, made up as follows: 14,759 males
and 10,634 females; 11,868 natives and 13,525 foreigners; 25,239 whites and 154
colored persons, the latter number including 88 Indians.

Area in acres, 2,176,000 acres; farms, 98; acres improved, 3,407.

WAR FOR THE UNION.

When Pericles was called upon to deliver the oration over those
who had fallen in the first campaign of the Peloponnesian war (according to
Thucydides), he began by extolling Athens, and, having expatiated upon her
glories, her institutions and her sciences, concluded by exclaiming, "For such a
republic, for such a nation, the people whom we this day mourn fell and died."
In referring to the "roll of honor," which, nearly twenty years ago combined to
defeat treason in this our native land, it may not be inappropriate to recur
briefly to the condition of that country when the mighty arm of military power
was invoked that the majesty of the law might be maintained. The nineteenth
century dawned upon tthmountains.orious in the promise of a prophetic infancy.
Tyranny and oppression, twin offspring of an inhuman parent, had been strangled
but a few years before. In 1860, the development of the resources of the States
was but just beginning, and, under an acceptable and wholesome form of
government, progressing rapidly. The finances of the country, notwithstanding
the panic of 1857, were in a healthy and promising condition. Money was plenty,
times "flush," to use a suggestive expression of the day; the factory and loom
made music all the day long, and the voice of the husbandman was heard amid the
fields of ripening grain. Everywhere and on every side, evidences of prosperity
were manifest. In bleak New England and the Sunny South, at the East and in the
city beside the bay whose waters ebb and flow through the Golden Gate, comfort,
contentment and happiness was the trinity to be found at every fireside. The
commercial and marine interests were second to no nation on the globe; its paper
was "gilt-edged," to express it commercially, and the white sails of America's
shipping were almost as numerous on the seas as the whitecaps that crested the
waves. Immigration from Continental Europe landed on our shores in an endless
stream, contributing to the wealth, as also to the horny-handed element of
strength and industry, without which nations go down to welcomed penury and
forgetfulness. At every hearthstone and in every household, when the thoughts of
home and country came, a prayer of thanksgiving went up to the Great Father that
our love was not lavished in vain, and man was enab1ed to rise from the sorrows
and disappointments of his every-day life as sunset's red glories or the moon's
silver hair floating down the broad-breasted mountains.

The rumbling of the coming storm had been heard at intervals in the halls of
Congress, on the stump, in the pulpit at the hustings, when a Toombs or a Yancey
lifted up a voice in defense of the slave power and its extension into the
Territories. But its admonitions came and went as the idiosyncrasies of radical
intolerance. As a result, many have gone before, and wait upon the threshold of
Paradise for the coming of those loved ones left behind, who have exchanged the
feeble pulses of a transitory existence for the ceaseless throbbings of eternal
life. Faithful and fearless on the march, in the strife and at the victory or
defeat, they at last lay down at the mysterious frontier, leaving the exalted
hope behind that, though the world was lost forever, there would be unfurled
another realm of unimaginable glory, where they and all whom they loved on earth
might realize the promise which the Great Ruler of the Universe has made unto
the just.

These "idiosyncrasies," as will be remembered, culminated on the 12th of
April, 1861, when Fort Sumter, off Charleston, was fired into by the rebels.
Notwithstanding this overt act of treason, this first act in the bloody reality
which followed was looked upon as mere bravado; but when, a day later, Maj.
Anderson's surrender was announced, the patriotic people of the North were
startled from their dream of the future, from undertakings half completed, and
made to realize that behind all there was a dark, deep and well determined
purpose to destroy the Government, and, upon its ruins, erect an oligarchy, the
cornerstone of which should be slavery. But the dreams of these marplots were
doomed to disappointment. Their plans for the establishment of a "Southern
Confederacy" were to be overthrown, if not in their inception, before
realization.

Immediately upon the promulgation of the news of the surrender, President
Lincoln, who, but a few short weeks before had taken the oath of office, issued
his call for troops in the following

PROCLAMATION.

WHEREAS, The laws of the United States have been, and are now,
violently opposed in several States by combinations too powerful to be
suppressed in the ordinary way, I therefore call for the militia of the several
States of the Union to the aggregate number of 75,000, to suppress said
combination and execute the laws. I appeal to all lawful citizens to facilitate
and aid in this effort to maintain the laws and the integrity of the perpetuity
of the popular government, and redress wrongs long enough endured. The first
service assigned to the forces, probably, will be to repossess the forts, places
and property which have been seized from the Union. Let the utmost care be
taken, consistent with the object, to avoid devastation, destruction,
interference with the property of peaceful citizens in any part of the country;
and I hereby command the persons composing the aforesaid combination to disperse
within twenty days from date.

I hereby convene both Houses of Congress for the 4th day of July
next, to determine npon measures of public safety, which the interest of the
subject demands.

ABRAHAM LDNCOLN, President of the United States. WDLLIAM H.
SEWARD, Secretary of State.

The gauntlet thus thrown down by the traitors of the South was
accepted in a firm, determined spirit of patriotism and love of country. The
world knows with what ready assent the people of the North responded to the call
for the defense of that Union they hoped to preserve. The world knows how they,
in the strength of this hope, struggled and fought with the legions of wrong
till the armor of many was caught in the glint and sunlight of eternity, ere the
dews had gone to heaven or the stars had gone to God.

The aggregate expenditures of Marquette and Schoolcraft for war
purposes up to 1866 was $3,000, and for the relief of soldiers' families, by
Marquette County, $7,989.16.

The troops furnished by Marquette County for the defense of the
Union previous to January, 1864, were distributed as follows: First Infantry, 10
men; Eighth Infantry, 1; Twenty seventh Infantry, 42 men; First Sharpshooters,
5; First Cavalry, 1 man; Ninth Cavalry; 13 men; First Light Artillery, 2 men The
total number of men furnished from the beginning of the war to January, 1864,
was 185. The total number of men furnished by Marquette and Schoolcraft to the
Michigan regiments, from the beginning to the close of the war was 265.

The Upper Peninsula is at present represented in the Second
Battalion Michigan Militia, by Company A—Captain, John E Ward, December 8, 1874;
First Lieutenant, William A. Jellison, April 7, 1879; Second Lieutenant, vacant;
and volunteers, Company B—Captain Henry Wilkins, August 8, 1881; First
Lieutenant, vacant; Second Lieutenant, John B. Curtiss, August 8, 1881; and
volunteers.

It is acknowledged that never before in the world's history was
witnessed such an uprising of the masses, such unanimity of sentiment, such
willingness to sacrifice life and money on the altar of patriotism, as that
which marked the years 1861-65.

When the first companies were being raised, measures were
inaugurated and carried out to raise money by subscription for the support of
the families of the volunteers. But there were so many calls for men, and the
number and needs of these families whose providers had gone to defend the life
of the nation, that it became an impossibility for private purses, however
willing their holders, to supply all the demand, and the county authorities made
frequent and liberal appropriations from the public treasury for that purpose.
Private liberality still continued. This money was raised in the midst of the
excitement of war, when the exigencies of the times demanded it, and the
generous people never thought to inquire how much was given. Aside from the sums
appropriated by county authority, no account was ever kept. Had there been, the
sum would now seem almost fabulous.

PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF THE COUNTY.

Marquette City, two stone, one brick, one frame building, valued
at $75,000; number of children of school age, 1,807; number who attended in
1881, 1,099; expenditures for year 1881, $14,632 98; amount paid teachers,
$4,984.40.

Marquette Township, two frame buildings, valued at $1.700; 100
children of school age; expenditures for year 1881, $1,017.60.

Michigamme Township, one frame building, valued at $7,000; 309
children of school age; expenditures, $3,891.89.

Ely Township, two frame and two log buildings, former valued at
$3,000, latter at $600; 331 children of school age; expenditures for year ending
1881, $4,563.

Forsyth Township, two frame and two log school buildings, valued at $1,400;
sixty children of school age; expenses for year ending 1881, about $1,600 for
the four districts.

Ishpeming Township, two frame buildings valued at $2,500; number of children,
212; expenditures for year ending 1881, $3,977.16.

Negaunee City, number of children of school age, 1,407; number who attended
school in 1881, 760; number of buildings, four; value of property, $17,000; paid
teachers, $4,200; total expenditures for year 1881, $11,803.31.

Negaunee Township, one frame building, rented; number of children, 63;
expenditures for year 1881, $704.50.

ESTABLISHMENT OF COURTS.

In January, 1823, Congress provided for a District Court, and
the appointment of a Judge over the counties of Michilimackinac, Brown and
Crawford. This court had concurrent jurisdiction with the Territorial Supreme
Court, subject to an appeal to the Territorial Court. James Duane Doty was
commissioned District Judge, to preside in May of each year, at Prairie du Chien;
in June, at Green Bay; and in July, at Michilimackinac. In 1824, Henry S. Baird,
of Brown County, was commissioned District Attorney. In May, 1832, Judge Doty
was succeeded by David Irvin, who continued to act until the abrogation of the
court. In 1850, the Upper Peninsula was constituted one judicial district. In
1851, Daniel Goodwin was elected Judge, and held the first court in Marquette
County August 5, 1852.

RECEIVERS OF LAND OFFICE.

COUNTY POOR FARM.

The county poor house and farm are located within the limits of
Marquette City. The building is almost new, and well adapted to the purpose for
which it was constructed. The old poor house is still standing, close by. The
institution is heated and ventilated on the most approved principles, and its
management is very satisfactory. During the year ending September, 1881, the
value of paupers' labor was estimated at $300; revenue from farm products, $500;
amount paid for official services to the poor, and for their transportation and
support, $1,939.91; medicine, funerals, food, fuel, clothing and other expenses
in aid of extern poor, $15,867.17; average cost of each intern pauper for the
year, $57.88. The total amount expended during the year in the care and support
of the poor was $33,942.44. There was one legitimate and one illegitimate birth
and eight deaths reported for 1881. The number of persons who received out door
relief was 1,043 poor, 4 insane, 1 deaf and dumb and one in the Michigan
Retreat. The whole number relieved was 1,154 persons.

To the northwest of Negaunee and north of Ishpeming lies an
immense territory that has as yet been unexplored, principally for the reason
that it was supposed by people generally to be barren of mineral entirely. Of
late, however, several indications of iron have been found, and also the Ropes
gold and silver vein, which goes to show that mineral really exists, and
warrants further and more careful search being made. We can truly say that this
mining field has as yet been only scratched over, and that the finds already
made here are but the leaders to that which will certainly follow.

Developments on the extension of the Ropes vein during August,
1882, were of a character to satisfy its sanguine owners. Four cross cuts
uncovered the vein at 50, 100 and 250 feet respectively, from B Shaft on the
Ropes. The drift ranges from four to twelve feet on the lode. Cross-cut No. 2,
where very rich rock was first struck and a blast put in, showed the vein to be
six feet wide, apparently dipping south at a high angle. Twenty inches of the
hanging is slate, with small veins of quartz. The slate assays $24 per ton. The
quartz veins assay $18 per ton. The quartz of the lode proper, next to the
slate, is very rich, three to four inches in width, some of it assaying $400 per
ton in gold, and $44 in silver. An average of the south sixteen inches of the
quartz vein proper assays $30 in gold and $2.80 in silver. At Cross-cut No. 3,
the lode is nine to twelve feet wide in white and gray quartz, with thin seams
of slate, all well charged with mineral, gray and yellow copper ore and iron
pyrites. Average assays from rock blasted out range from $15 to $45 in gold, and
$3 to $16.63 in silver, giving an average of $25.50 per ton for nine feet of the
vein. At Cross-cut No. 4, 100 feet still farther west, the lode still holds its
width; in fact, there are two lodes, separated by a horse of slate six feet
wide, the northern portion of the vein being five feet wide, the south from ten
to twelve feet. The quartz blasted out at this point is peculiar-a white
variety, containing irregular patches of chlorite and serpentine from
one-quarter to three-quarters inches across, and often running together, forming
an irregular mass from one to one and one-half inches in size. Another variety
is iron-stained and rose-colored, full of small cavities and seams of drusy
quartz. The coarsest gold yet found occurs here. Assays of this rock give gold
$78, silver $27.15. Several specimens have been found in which there is
considerable free gold in crystal scales and strings, large enough to be plainly
discernible to the unaided eye. Somewhat of white iron also occurs here, small
scales of native copper and specular iron (black sand). The lode is evidently a
fissure or contact fissure, its width, persistency, and, at times, banded and
brecciaed character, all indicate it. At times, the first formed body of quartz
seems to have been shattered and cracked, and subsequently filled in by
silicious solutions. The metamorphic schist in which the lode occurs are
principally magnesian. The foot-wall, a greenish gray talcochloritic slate, the
hanging a soft steatitic, somewhat calciferous schist. South of these are heavy
eruptive masses of serpentine, these in turn being flanked by the quartzite
which overlie the iron ore beds; on the north the schists are in close contact
with serpentine, diorite and granite. The work of exploring for the lode at
points farther west is still progressing.

George Wagner and others secured an option for a lease of the bed of
novaculite known to exist about three miles southwest of Marquette, in August,
1882, and proceeded to ascertain the quality as well as the quantity of the
stone. If found of uniform merchantable quality and in workable quantity, works
will be erected for its manipulation into the various shapes the market may
require.

The Kloeckner Land Pool purchased 22,000 acres, covering thirty three miles,
across the entire iron range of the Marquette and Menominee Districts, in June,
1882.

WAGES IN THE UPPER PENINSULA IN 1882.

A. letter from the Assistant Commissioner of Mineral Statistics, dated at
Marquette in September, 1881, furnished information concerning that portion of
the State as follows: Miners receive per day of ten hours from $2 to $2.25. They
work one week day-shift and one week nightshift, alternating. Miners working on
contract make from $2.50 to $3.50 per day. Prices are about the same the year
round. Furnace men get $2 to $2.25 per day; the founder, $1,500 to $1,800 per
year. Surface laborers at the mines get $1.75 to $2 per day; laborers on the
railroads, $1.80 per day; teams, $5 per day; farm hands, $1.50 to $1.75 per day,
exclusive of board. Carpenters, painters, etc., receive $3 per day; masons, $4
per day; wood-choppers, $1 per cord. The demand for labor is good, fully equal
to and rather in excess of the supply, especially for experienced miners. The
board of single men costs them $18 per month. The cost of living is a quarter to
a third more than in Lower Michigan. The wages in the copper regions average
about the same as at Marquette. Upper Michigan must ever be a field which will
require the labor of a large number of men at remunerative wages, varying, of
course, with the demand for iron and copper, but the country is improving
rapidly, and other fields than mining will require labor in the future to a much
greater extent than has prevailed in the past.

To the toilers in the mining regions we may sincerely say, sink your pits,
blast your mines, dam your rivers, consume your manufactures, disperse your
commerce, and may your labors be in vein.

Popular belief has long considered this region a synonym for marvelous
mineral wealth, and, long before that wealth was proved to have an existence,
tradition and story had woven about the name a glamour of golden fancies which
modern enterprise and modern energy have at last turned into solid facts. It has
remained, however, for a later age and another race to bring to light this vast
wealth, and send it forth to benefit mankind and enlarge and enrich the trade
and commerce of the globe.

Nowhere on the continent is there such an extensive distribution of the
metals. While in other mineral-bearing States and Territories the deposits are
confined to certain well-defined limits; here, no such distinction prevails. It
would appear as if nature had, in a prodigal mood, scattered her treasures with
a lavish hand, and neglected no portion of her chosen mineral domain. In the
richness and variety of its ores, it is also distinguished from the mining
regions of the West. This predominating feature of the country was noted in an
early period of its history. No mining State or Territory has yielded such
masses of heavily weighted ore, and few have equaled the wonderful copper
deposits of the country westward of this county.

There are portions of the county which offer good grazing and farming lands,
but mining must be its main industry. Almost every range within its borders is
seamed with veins of gold, silver and copper, as well as iron. The distance from
supplies, the cost of freight and the want of proper reduction works prevented
the proper development of this vast mineral wealth at the outset. The building
of the railroads into the center of the mining region assured for this county a
full share in the bright prospects of the State.